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A hospital bag essential

Intro

I will be talking about the joys of motherhood and the delights we have to go through straight after giving birth so just a pre warning :)

I now have four perfect children after giving birth to my newest addition on the 14th June and so I have had experiences with a few different maternity pads and these asda towels were the ones I decided to re purchase for my latest trip to the hospital after having a positive experience with them in the past. Maternity pads are an essential for any new mum and as you will need to use them for at least a few weeks it was important I found ones that were efficient enough to use but also comfy. These cost around 98 pence for 10 pads and with the amount I go through after each birth it is great that they are inexpensive.

These pads have minimal packaging and come in a white packet but it has lots of different colours and patterns on it making it easy to find in your bag. As there are 10 large pads inside this packet it is rather bulky and this means it takes up a fair amount of space in your hospital bag and even if you are in the hospital for the 24 hours after a normal birth they will take up a lot of room.

The pads

After birth you are advised not to use tampons due to a higher risk of infection and as normal sanitary towels are not designed to cope with the large amount of loss after giving birth you will need maternity pads which are specially designed for this purpose. There is nothing fancy to them as they are a value product but they work well and only receive a few hours of use anyway. The pack is easy to open and there is no scent to the pad it is just a large thick sanitary towel.

The maternity towels are large in size and extremely thick compared to usual sanitary towels but they need to be to cope with the heavy loss of Lochia and this is why they are around 28 cm long and 9 cm wide meaning they will cover most of the knickers lining providing the coverage needed to cope with the loss. Although on first appearance they look really huge and bulky I soon learned that this is needed and actually a god sends. You will need larger underwear to use these but for comfort after the birth of my children I always had very large underwear to hand to provide comfort even if they are not the most stylish this will be the last thing you are worrying about.

In use

They are very easy to use they do not come wrapped individually and once the main pack is opened you are greeted with 10 large pads. To use simply remove from the pack and at the bottom of the pad you will find a plastic strip which you peel away to reveal an adhesive strip that holds the pad in place while in your knickers. This is strong enough to hold the pad in place without slipping or moving but does not make it difficult to remove and dispose of the pad which is the last thing you would want. The pad is rather bulky which means it can be uncomfortable until you get used to it and although the cotton on the pad makes it as soft as possible on the skin it is still very noticeable. Although I found this the case with all maternity pads and it is not just this one that caused me discomfort it is purely down to the size of the pad compared to usual sanitary towels but they do need to be this big to cope with the job they are intended for.

I had heavy blood loss with all four of my children and I found that on the first few days of using the towel there were occasions after I had been sitting feeding little one of laying down for a long period of time I would stand up and the towel would be soaked and I would have to excuse myself to the bathroom straight away to find the pad completely covered and useless at stopping the Lochia from leaking on to my underwear. I was a little concerned and spoke to the midwife that said this could be normal as long as it did not happen all the time and continue after the first few days after giving birth. I actually changed the maternity pads for my third baby thinking that I could find something that dealt with this heavier loss better but unfortunately I had the same problem and so that is why I decided to purchase these asda pads this time round again.

For day to day use I found them to work really well they protected me from any leaks and are perfect for the first few weeks I did find they were too big to use after my Lochia loss had slowed down as I was able to use a smaller sanitary towel but again this will vary from person to person. Other than on those few occasions I felt the pads were effective at dealing with my needs effectively and I never had a problem with them leaking or not working in any way. I did find I needed to change my pad regular once every few hours and this means you do go through a lot of pads but again on trying different versions I found this to be the case for all of them. This helped to keep me as comfy as possible in a time that is difficult to feel this way and I found the soft liner helped prevent any discomfort.

Overall

I found these pads to be as comfortable as can be for the size they need to be to work efficiently and although there are some downsides these tend to be for all maternity pads in general rather than just this particular brand. They are a good size work well and are inexpensive and help provide a better experience after you have had little one. Any mother will know maternity pads are an essential for your hospital bag and although the length of time you use them will vary depending on the person they will be a needed addition to your routine for a good few weeks so you need to be comfortable with your purchase and for that reason I would recommend these own brand maternity towels from Asda and I will continue to use them for the next few weeks.

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A maternity towel that I would not recommend from Asda

***As a pre warning my review is about a "feminine" product and discusses the delights of giving birth, I've tried to keep it as non-graphic as possible however some may find uncomfortable reading***

I had my twin boys 4 weeks early and because I had a "planned induction" I knew I would be kept in hospital longer than the usual 24 hours for natural births at our local hospital. It was initially discussed that I would spend around 5-7 days in hospital post birth and as much I packed a huge bag to take to hospital with essentials for me and two babies, I could not take everything I needed. Because of this I had to depend on Mr Lools to bring in additional supplies which included maternity pads. Trusted with going shopping for more he purchased the Asda Little Angel Maternity Towels.

*** Asda Little Angel Maternity Towels***The description on the pack of these maternity towels are "have been specially designed for use after childbirth, the soft materials ensure comfort and the contour channels ensure protection from leaks in the days after the arrival of your little angel."

The Little Angels Maternity Towels look like any other brand of maternity towels do. A thick white pad around 30cm long and 8cm wide and 2.5cm thick. On the reverse side of the towel is a peel off section covering the adhesive strip to keep in place on underwear. Maternity Towels and pads are advised to use following giving birth over other feminine hygiene products because they have been designed especially to cope with absorbing the heavy blood lost post giving birth.

The Little Angels Maternity Towels have on the packaging that they were the winners of the Mother & Baby Awards 2008/2009 Retailer of the Year gold award winner for 2 years running Soft and absorbent Comfortable protection Maternity towels.

The Little Angel Maternity Towels are available from Asda stores and from Asda.com and cost 98p per pack of 10. This price is average and the same as other brands of maternity towels so is very reasonable. However it is worth noting that although these are inexpensive especially in the first few days you go through a lot of these and will need at least 2 packs of these in your hospital bag for a standard hospital stay; more if you are required to stay in hospital longer.

***My Experience***Prior to using the Asda Little Angel Maternity Towels I had been using Boots Maternity Towels. Although I would not have described wearing the Boots Maternity towels to be the most comfortable experience I did find that the actual maternity towel could not have been better it was the actual giving birth experience that was giving me the discomfort.

Post birth I would have described myself to be quite understandably feeling delicate "down there" however on reflection I could have been a lot less fortunate when having a natural birth and delivering two babies. I escaped with what is known medically as "grazes" and had no tears, I didn't needing cutting (!!) and I had no stitches so I was not in as much pain as some of my other friends after to giving birth. However walking and sitting down still had to be done slowly in the first week or so. In the first few days I had enough maternity pads in my hospital bag so had been using a different brand of maternity towel in the most painful and sore few days. However as my hospital stay was quite long Mr Lools brought in more maternity towels which were the Asda Little Angel brand.

Looks wise these were almost identical to the Boots products I had been using. The Little Angel Maternity Towels come in a sealed plastic wrapper and are not individually wrapped so you simply take a pad out of the pack feel off the adhesive wrapper and use. Like all other maternity pads because they are so thick the pack is very bulky so does take up a considerable amount of space in a hospital bag.

I first used the Little Angel Maternity Towels about 2-3 days after giving birth and I was not very impressed. The actual pad was a lot less comfortable than the Boots Maternity Pads I had previously been using. I felt the actual pad did not feel as soft and cushioned and when moving around it rubbed because it felt stiffer and less flexible. With being in hospital I did not do much walking however walking to and from the meal rooms when wearing the Little Angels Maternity Towels was quite uncomfortable and I felt very sore after, which I did not encounter with the softer Boots products. A few other friends who had A LOT more pain after giving birth also actually commented they could not use these products at all.

Like other brands of maternity towels the Asda Little Angels products are thick and quite bulky to wear giving the feeling of having a brick between your legs. Not so much an issue when you are in hospital surrounded by other women also wearing pyjamas and who have also gone through giving birth but when back into the real world I must admit you feel more self-conscious. I did feel that these maternity towels from Asda were more noticeable than the other brands I used because they lacked as much flexibility and was one of the many reasons I did not continue to use these and sent Mr Lools out for more of the Boots products.

Absorbency wise the Little Angel Maternity Towels were very good and coped with the heavy blood loss post birth no better or worse than other brands I used. Post birth blood loss will vary on the individual but I found that I needed to change after about 2 hours on the times I used these.

***Overall***Giving birth is never going to be a comfortable experience and some pain and discomfort after is to be expected. However I would not recommend the Little Angel Maternity Towels because in my experience they added to my discomfort. The towels look the same as other maternity towels and at 98p for a pack of 10 are around the same price. Absorbency wise I did not have any issues with these towels and would say they were as good as the other brands I used.

My issue with the Little Angel Maternity Towels was how uncomfortable I found them to wear. I did find them bulky in the same way other maternity towels are but I also found that these Asda towels rubbed as I walked and sat down and did not feel as flexible. I felt very delicate but I imagine if I had suffered a more traumatic birth this would have been much more of an issue and would have really made me uncomfortable.

Not a product I will be putting in my hospital bag again!

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protect and care

Giving birth isn't glamorous, fact. But for me, the days after birth was when it really hit me just what sort of state my body was in. I had obviously read up on the effects of birth on my body and was aware of Lochia or postnatal bleeding. What I wasn't prepared for, however, was how much bleeding there was and for how long. I had purchased some maternity pads but also some winged sanitary pads as I felt that these would hold better as the maternity pads are not winged. Mistake. The sanitary pads offered so little protection for such a heavy flow that I really recommend that, if you are giving birth any time soon, you stock up on maternity pads.

Asda is our nearest supermarket, although not where we usually shop, so hubby was sent out pretty sharpish for more maternity pads and he purchased several packs of their Little Angels Maternity Towels at 98p for a packet of 10 pads. The pads come in a simple clear plastic wrapping with colourful 'little angels' labelling. The pack also has two gold stars on, representing that asda is 'Mother & Baby Awards 2008/2009 Retailer of the Year gold award winner for 2 years running'.

The pads lie lengthways in the pack. They are very long and relatively thick. They are white in colour and feel soft to the touch - the soft materials ensure that they are comfortable to wear. They also feature contour channels to prevent leaks. The towels work by lining your underwear as sanitary towels do and have a backing that needs to be removed to reveal a sticky strip to hold them in place. This strip works very well and I found them to hold in place very well, with no slipping. This meant that I was very confident that there would not be any accidents. I also found them to be very absorbent and offer me good protection for a couple of hours when the flow was heaviest and longer as it got lighter. They were also ac comfortable to wear as such a thick pad could possibly be. I also had an episiotomy at birth and the pads were soft around the wound and stitches and didn't irritate it at all.

I would definitely recommend these maternity pads for the days and weeks after birth when you have enough to worry about - you don't want uncomfortable, leaky pads adding to that list!

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A good reliable maternity pad

Although I am well past the need to use maternity pads now, dooyoo have only just added this suggestion and so I write this several weeks after giving birth. Prior to having my daughter I had picked up a variety of maternity pads, knowing from advice that I would need quite a few pads in the first few days and even week after giving birth to absorb the blood lost. One variety of pad that I had bought were these Asda Little Angels pack of 10 maternity towels (the picture at the top is for maternity briefs).

Asda promotes these maternity towels as being soft and absorbent which is what you both need and want after giving birth, particulary the softness as it can be very very tender to sit down, and therefore the cushioning of the pads is a necessity. These pads have (according to the front of the packet) won gold awards for the past two years in the mother and baby awards, and so this is reassuring when you go to buy them.

The packaging of the Asda little angels range is very pretty and eye catching and much nicer than other supermarket baby branded items. These pads have been specially contoured as well to ensure the best and most comfortable fit inside your underwear, and with a sticky adhesive strip they stay in place well for as long as you need before changing. I found that they also absorbed the blood loss well, although obviously you need to change the pad frequently given the amount of loss, however, it did keep me feeling dry and there certainly weren't any leaks whilst wearing these, which is a good sign, given the quantity of blood that you lose in the first week after birth.

In terms of softness, I knew even by looking at them that they looked soft and comfortable, and when wearing them they did help with the tenderness when I sat down, although nothing could obviously take it away, but I did feel that there was some cushioning that helped me through that spell.

All in all, I only bought one packet of these at the time, and used them all very quickly in that first week. Should the time come again for me to have another child, I would certainly buy these again, as they were soft, reliable and comfortable to wear, which is not easy when they are so big.